Planning your ski trip this winter? St. Moritz, Verbier, Aspen? You can now add the desert kingdom Dubai to your list. This week plans were announced to build the world’s longest indoor ski slope, part of a larger construction project, that when completed, will house the world’s tallest building and the largest ‘dancing’ fountain.

Plans for the Meydan One complex, which will include the 1.2km slope, were announced on Monday by his Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. The project will cover over 40 million square feet and is estimated to cost $6.8 billion to build. Its date for completion is 2020.

Meydan One will also feature a shopping mall, the 711m tower comprising office blocks apartments and shops, a civic plaza, 4km canal and a marina with 100 yacht berths.

Already boasting an indoor ski centre which runs year round, (despite the summer temperatures which can top 45°c/113°F), it is not the largest in the world, this means competition for the world record hungry UAE. The proposed snow sports arena will flatten the current record holder, the Alpincenter in Germany. At 640m it will be little over half the length of Dubai’s.

“This development is a forward thinking, interactive enterprise geared towards the Dubai of tomorrow. The encouragement and support we have received in the past from our trusted partners will now help the Meydan One development come to life. The first phase will be completed as Dubai prepares to host the World Expo 2020,” said Saeed Humaid Al Tayer, Meydan’s Chairman.